It’s not an easy job, and anyone who has worked in the food-service industry knows it from experience, and when a server gets stiffed on a tip, it not only hurts feelings but also challenges personal budgets.
There are more than ever men and women working in that particular industry here in the Upper Ohio Valley thanks to the development that’s taken place at The Highlands, the Ohio Valley Mall, the Ohio Valley Plaza, at Centre Market, and in downtown Wheeling. Some folks work at two eateries while others have a full-time job, and they moonlight on the weekend to make ends meet, and for that to happen, those tips have to add up.
Most of the chain restaurants have training programs that instruct the waiters and waitresses how to provide the service the respective corporate offices deem fitting for their eateries while most locally owned restaurants go about it with a less formal approach but still realize that customers’ experience determines whether or not they will patronize the same place again and again. The food must be good, of course, but if the service sucks, a return trip is much less likely.
That is why a nine-step system for serving was developed by the Big Boy Corp. before the first Elby’s Family Restaurant opened along National Road in Wheeling. The best part about the steps, even for a first-time server, is that each one makes complete sense when it comes to taking care of customers.
Of course, customers want to be recognized soon after sitting down, and of course, they want their hot food to arrive hot and cold food to arrive cold, and of course, if there is an issue with the food delivered to the table, they want it corrected much sooner than way later. If these nine steps are followed, even by veterans at the chains, more tipping and less stiffing likely will take place.
Sincerely,
(Hint: You want our money)
